WEA and Micah Global stand with Beni, DRC, at UN

Micah Global members in DRC have alerted Micah to the increasing violence in Beni State, DRC where the atrocities committed with impunity are an absolute travesty. The international community cannot turn a blind eye to this and we call on all governments, the United Nations and the DRC authorities to act swiftly to end these senseless murders and property destruction.

Together with the WEA, Micah has delivered the below statement at the 34th UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva today (Wednesday 22nd March 2017).

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Human Rights Council34th session

Item 10: Technical assistance and capacity-buildingInteractive dialogue on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

21 March 2017

Speaker: Michael Mutzner

Mister President,

The World Evangelical Alliance[1] thanks the Council for Human Rights and the High Commissioner for the opportunity to have this interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in the DRC.

In its resolution 33/29 of September 2016, the Human Rights Council expressed its concern "for the continuation of the atrocities committed against civilians in the Beni region" and condemned "in the strongest terms the senseless criminal violence committed by the Allied Democratic Forces."

Unfortunately, the attacks continue, and civilians are the victims. Since 2014, there have been hundreds of deaths. MONUSCO and the DRC have identified the ADF as being responsible for most of these killings, including the massacre of 51 people on the night of the 13th-14th of August, 2016 in Beni. While we note the late opening of the military operational court in Beni, we regret the climate of impunity, which also fuels rumours and questions about the responsivities of the violence. The population of Beni is filled with a deep sense of injustice and despair, feeling that they are being used as a bargaining chip for different powers and groups fighting to control this region.

Mr. President, shedding light on the various episodes of violence that have affected the Beni region since 2014 seems to us to be an indispensable step in the fight against impunity, the return of the rule of law, and the respect for human rights necessary for the region to heal its wounds. In this sense, the World Evangelical Alliance requests the establishment of an International Commission of Inquiry to take charge of illuminating the facts surrounding these atrocities, as well as the personal and collective responsibilities of the people involved, so that justice can be done; and victims, identified and rescued.